228 research outputs found
Which probes are most useful when undertaking cognitive interviews?
This paper reports the use of verbal probes in cognitive interviews (CIs) undertaken to test the usefulness, validity and reliability of survey questions. Through examining the use of probes by three interviewers undertaking interviews as part the piloting of a cross-national crime survey, we examine which of the various types of probes used in CIs produce the most useful information. Other influences on interview quality are examined, including differences between interviewers and respondents themselves. The analyses rely on multi-level modelling and suggest that anticipated, emergent and conditional probes provide the most useful data. Furthermore, age, gender and educational levels appear to have no bearing on the quality of the data generated
A homopolar disc dynamo experiment with liquid metal contacts
We present experimental results of a homopolar disc dynamo constructed at
CICATA-Quer\'etaro in Mexico. The device consists of a flat, multi-arm spiral
coil which is placed above a fast-spinning metal disc and connected to the
latter by sliding liquid-metal electrical contacts. Theoretically,
self-excitation of the magnetic field is expected at the critical magnetic
Reynolds number Rm~45, which corresponds to a critical rotation rate of about
10 Hz. We measured the magnetic field above the disc and the voltage drop on
the coil for the rotation rate up to 14 Hz, at which the liquid metal started
to leak from the outer sliding contact. Instead of the steady magnetic field
predicted by the theory we detected a strongly fluctuating magnetic field with
a strength comparable to that of Earth's magnetic field which was accompanied
by similar voltage fluctuations in the coil. These fluctuations seem to be
caused by the intermittent electrical contact through the liquid metal. The
experimental results suggest that the dynamo with the actual electrical
resistance of liquid metal contacts could be excited at the rotation rate of
around 21 Hz provided that the leakage of liquid metal is prevented.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures (to appear in Magnetohydrodynamics
Human subjective response to steering wheel vibration caused by diesel engine idle
This study investigated the human subjective response to steering wheel vibration of the type caused by a four-cylinder diesel engine idle in passenger cars. Vibrotactile perception was assessed using sinusoidal amplitude-modulated vibratory stimuli of constant energy level (r.m.s. acceleration, 0.41 m/s(2)) having a carrier frequency of 26 Hz (i.e. engine firing frequency) and modulation frequency of 6.5 Hz (half-order engine harmonic). Evaluations of seven levels of modulation depth parameter m (0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0) were performed in order to define the growth function of human perceived disturbance as a function of amplitude modulation depth. Two semantic descriptors were used (unpleasantness and roughness) and two test methods (the Thurstone paired-comparison method and the Borg CR-10 direct evaluation scale) for a total of four tests. Each test was performed using an independent group of 25 individuals. The results suggest that there is a critical value of modulation depth m = 0.2 below which human subjects do not perceive differences in amplitude modulation and above which the stimulus-response relationship increases monotonically with a power function. The Stevens power exponents suggest that the perceived unpleasantness is non-linearly dependent on modulation depth m with an exponent greater than 1 and that the perceived roughness is dependent with an exponent close to unity
Metamorphosis of helical magnetorotational instability in the presence of axial electric current
This paper presents numerical linear stability analysis of a cylindrical
Taylor-Couette flow of liquid metal carrying axial electric current in a
generally helical external magnetic field. Axially symmetric disturbances are
considered in the inductionless approximation corresponding to zero magnetic
Prandtl number. Axial symmetry allows us to reveal an entirely new
electromagnetic instability. First, we show that the electric current passing
through the liquid can extend the range of helical magnetorotational
instability (HMRI) indefinitely by transforming it into a purely
electromagnetic instability. Two different electromagnetic instability
mechanisms are identified. The first is an internal pinch-type instability,
which is due to the interaction of the electric current with its own magnetic
field. Axisymmetric mode of this instability requires a free-space component of
the azimuthal magnetic field. When the azimuthal component of the magnetic
field is purely rotational and the axial component is nonzero, a new kind of
electromagnetic instability emerges. The latter driven by the interaction of
electric current with a weak collinear magnetic field in a quiescent fluid
gives rise to a steady meridional circulation coupled with azimuthal rotation.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, final versio
Factors determining exportation and internationalization in family businesses: The importance of debt
This study focuses on the factors that may influence Spanish family owned businesses to decide to export and move towards internationalization, posing their level of debt as a possible determining factor. To do so, a review of publications
on the subject has been carried out, as well as an empirical study using a sample of 1,846 businesses, which include both family and non-family firms. The results seem to show that the debt level of businesses whose propriety and management are handled by a family differs from that of those that do not fit this characteristic, especially where the decision whether or not to export products abroad is concerned
Acoustic and optical variations during rapid downward motion episodes in the deep north-western Mediterranean Sea
An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) was moored at the deep-sea site
of the ANTARES neutrino telescope near Toulon, France, thus providing a unique
opportunity to compare high-resolution acoustic and optical observations
between 70 and 170 m above the sea bed at 2475 m. The ADCP measured downward
vertical currents of magnitudes up to 0.03 m s-1 in late winter and early
spring 2006. In the same period, observations were made of enhanced levels of
acoustic reflection, interpreted as suspended particles including zooplankton,
by a factor of about 10 and of horizontal currents reaching 0.35 m s-1. These
observations coincided with high light levels detected by the telescope,
interpreted as increased bioluminescence. During winter 2006 deep dense-water
formation occurred in the Ligurian subbasin, thus providing a possible
explanation for these observations. However, the 10-20 days quasi-periodic
episodes of high levels of acoustic reflection, light and large vertical
currents continuing into the summer are not direct evidence of this process. It
is hypothesized that the main process allowing for suspended material to be
moved vertically later in the year is local advection, linked with topographic
boundary current instabilities along the rim of the 'Northern Current'.Comment: 30 pages, 7 figure
A modified BlĂzkaâtype respirometer for the study of swimming metabolism in fishes having deep, laterally compressed bodies or unusual locomotor modes
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73888/1/j.1095-8649.2000.tb00890.x.pd
Open Ocean Deep Sea
The deep sea comprises the seafloor, water column and biota therein below aspecified depth contour. There are differences in views among experts and agencies regarding the appropriate depth to delineate the âdeep seaâ. This chapter uses a 200 metre depth contour as a starting point, so that the âdeep seaâ represents 63 per cent of the Earthâs surface area and about 98.5 per cent of Earthâs habitat volume (96.5 per cent of which is pelagic). However, much of the information presented in this chapter focuses on biodiversity of waters substantially deeper than 200 m. Many of the other regional divisions of Chapter 36 include treatments of shelf and slope biodiversity in continental-shelf and slope areas deeper than 200m. Moreover Chapters 42 and 45 on coldwater corals and vents and seeps, respectively, and 51 on canyons, seamounts and other specialized morphological habitat types address aspects of areas in greater detail. The estimates of global biodiversity of the deep sea in this chapter do include all biodiversity in waters and the seafloor below 200 m. However, in the other sections of this chapter redundancy with the other regional chapters is avoided, so that biodiversity of shelf, slope, reef, vents, and specialized habitats is assessed in the respective regional or thematic chapters.
AB - The deep sea comprises the seafloor, water column and biota therein below aspecified depth contour. There are differences in views among experts and agencies regarding the appropriate depth to delineate the âdeep seaâ. This chapter uses a 200 metre depth contour as a starting point, so that the âdeep seaâ represents 63 per cent of the Earthâs surface area and about 98.5 per cent of Earthâs habitat volume (96.5 per cent of which is pelagic). However, much of the information presented in this chapter focuses on biodiversity of waters substantially deeper than 200 m. Many of the other regional divisions of Chapter 36 include treatments of shelf and slope biodiversity in continental-shelf and slope areas deeper than 200m. Moreover Chapters 42 and 45 on coldwater corals and vents and seeps, respectively, and 51 on canyons, seamounts and other specialized morphological habitat types address aspects of areas in greater detail. The estimates of global biodiversity of the deep sea in this chapter do include all biodiversity in waters and the seafloor below 200 m. However, in the other sections of this chapter redundancy with the other regional chapters is avoided, so that biodiversity of shelf, slope, reef, vents, and specialized habitats is assessed in the respective regional or thematic chapters.https://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_facbooks/1050/thumbnail.jp
Long-Term GPS Tracking of Ocean Sunfish Mola mola Offers a New Direction in Fish Monitoring
Satellite tracking of large pelagic fish provides insights on free-ranging behaviour, distributions and population structuring. Up to now, such fish have been tracked remotely using two principal methods: direct positioning of transmitters by Argos polar-orbiting satellites, and satellite relay of tag-derived light-level data for post hoc track reconstruction. Error fields associated with positions determined by these methods range from hundreds of metres to hundreds of kilometres. However, low spatial accuracy of tracks masks important details, such as foraging patterns. Here we use a fast-acquisition global positioning system (Fastloc GPS) tag with remote data retrieval to track long-term movements, in near real time and position accuracy of <70 m, of the world's largest bony fish, the ocean sunfish Mola mola. Search-like movements occurred over at least three distinct spatial scales. At fine scales, sunfish spent longer in highly localised areas with faster, straighter excursions between them. These âstopoversâ during long-distance movement appear consistent with finding and exploiting food patches. This demonstrates the feasibility of GPS tagging to provide tracks of unparalleled accuracy for monitoring movements of large pelagic fish, and with nearly four times as many locations obtained by the GPS tag than by a conventional Argos transmitter. The results signal the potential of GPS-tagged pelagic fish that surface regularly to be detectors of resource âhotspotsâ in the blue ocean and provides a new capability for understanding large pelagic fish behaviour and habitat use that is relevant to ocean management and species conservation
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